Terms & Conditions

We look forward to seeing you soon in beautiful Niseko Japan; below are our terms and conditions of service.

Standard Booking and Lesson Terms

Payment for your lesson constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions; you and the participants who are named on the lesson bookings agree that snowboarding and skiing are hazardous sports. GoSnow and employees cannot be held liable for any lost or stolen equipment, accident, injury, or injury resulting in death that occurs before, during or after your lesson.

Lift passes are obligatory and are not included in the lesson price. They are required for all lifts including the magic carpets.

Please arrive with your Snowsports gear and lift ticket ready to use.

Payment for all lessons must be made in full prior to start of the lesson.

Lessons will not be extended or rescheduled due to the late arrival of the guest for any reason.

No compensation can be made for weather conditions or other operational conditions outside of the control of GoSnow.

To be eligible for any refund due to sickness or injury you must advise GoSnow you will not be attending before your lesson commences & present a valid local medical certificate within 24 hours of your lesson.

You must have and you agree that you do have valid Travel Insurance which covers you for accident or injury while skiing.

A 20% deposit is required within 7 days of your reservation and the outstanding balance is due no later than two weeks prior to your lesson start date. GoSnow reserves the right to cancel any lessons which have not be paid by the due date.

Cancellations made less than 48 hours prior to the commencement of the lesson will incur a 100% cancellation fee.

Cancellations made 48 hours to 7 days prior to the commencement of the lesson will incur a 20% cancellation fee.

GoSnow reserves the right to review and cancel any bookings which do not meet our booking terms and conditions for that product in the case of a booking being automatically confirmed by the system.

All lessons are fixed to the lesson location accepted at the time of booking. If the client would like to change the location the booking will revert back to a request and will become subject to normal lesson availability at that location.

Private Lessons

Private lessons can be transferred with at least 24 hours’ notice to another person. Note that changing between ski and snowboard is possible with 24 hours’ notice and is subject to availability.

All full day lessons have a flexible start time between 0830 and 1000.

All Half Day and 2 hour lessons must meet at the private lesson meeting flag at the base location selected at the time of booking. Location choices are at the Hirafu Gondola or Family Base areas.

All of our private lessons must start in Grand Hirafu ski resort and ski the Niseko United resort. We are unable to start at any other resort location.

All participants must be of the same or similar ability level and must be on the same equipment (No ski and board mixed privates).

GoSnow will not book family privates with children under the age of 6. If you would like to book a family private, please talk to a member of our team.

All private lessons including children aged between 3-6 years are subject to approval by the Snowsports Manager.

GoSnow will only provide privates to children under the age of 3 years in a one on one environment.

Full Day Private Lessons are for 6 continuous hours and must take a minimum of 30 minutes’ break during the day at a time of your choice. Lunch is not provided.

You can request a specific instructor however we cannot guarantee that we will be able to accommodate your request

Group Lessons - General

Are non-transferable, except in the case of illness or injury.

Group lesson participants must arrive for registration 15 minutes prior to the lesson start time.

No refund or reschedule of lessons can be given for any guests who arrive after the lesson has commenced

First Timer to Novice levels will require a Grand Hirafu/Hanazono lift ticket. Intermediate to advanced levels will require a Niseko United lift ticket. Please note your lesson may stay in the Hirafu/Hanazono area and GoSnow is not liable for any refunds in ticket prices should this occur.

Adult Group Lessons

Workshops are available from the Gondola Base only.

Minimum level for Workshops is advanced (excluding Women’s Workshop). If your ability does not fit, you will be moved to an adult group lesson. The difference in price will be refunded.

Full day group lessons will take a 1 hour lunch break, usually 1230 - 1330. Lunch is not provided.

First Timer Pack participants must arrive to collect their lift ticket and rental vouchers no later than 8:30 am on the first day of lessons.

Children’s Group Lessons

Registration for kids group lessons is 0900. All parents must sign a children’s registration form prior to the first lesson. The registration forms part of our terms and conditions.

All children must be toilet trained to take part in lessons with GoSnow. We cannot accept any children that are still in diapers.

Helmets are required for all children who take part in Teen Program, Yama Riders & Ninja Kids lessons.

Children are required to have full day lift tickets. No points or hour passes can be accepted.

Lunch is provided for full day group lessons only. Food can be ordered for children with food intolerance's if ordered 48 hours in advance. Please note we cannot provide food for children with severe allergies.

Lessons are fixed to the start location booked at the time of reservation, changes to the location will be subject to availability at that location.

Powder Guiding

The areas that the Guide will take you depend on:

Weather conditions

Snow and avalanche conditions

What “gates” are open allowing access to “out of resort areas”

Your skill level

Where you want go

Your safety is our main priority, GoSnow guides have the final decision on where is safe for you and your group to ski/board.

Tours will only be rescheduled if the lifts are not operating.

You must follow the direction of GoSnow guides, including respecting the Niseko Rules and Alpine Responsibility Code at all times

Please note that the “Gates” for access to “out of resort areas” are controlled by the resort Ski Patrol. Gates are scheduled to open at different times of the day and season, but opening of each Gate is always subject to weather and snow conditions.

Children must be at least 13 years old to take part in our Guide products that go out of the Niseko gates.

Half-day tours cannot access some backcountry and resort areas due to time constraints. If skiing/riding the peak is your goal a full day tour is recommended.

The client accepts that touring in the Niseko backcountry is a dangerous activity, and while our guides take utmost care, there is additional risk involved in touring the alpine backcountry areas. The guest accepts that no liability will be held to GoSnow, our employees or Grand Hirafu Resort in the event of accident, injury or death.

The client accepts that in the event of an accident, the client will be responsible for all costs associated with their recovery.

You must have and you agree that you do have valid Travel Insurance which covers you for accident or injury while skiing in out of the Niseko United Resort Boundries.